Review: PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES Falls Flat

So, you ask, where on the Lincoln Scale does PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES fall?

For those unfamiliar, the Lincoln Scale, most apt for a film like PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES, is a rating system with Spielberg's Oscar-nominated LINCOLN on one end, and The Asylum's ABRAHAM LINCOLN VS. ZOMBIES on the other, with ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER falling somewhere in the middle.

But before we can rate, let's talk about the movie -- actually, let's talk about the book. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES, written and directed by Burr Steers, is the filmic version of Seth Grahame-Smith's reimagining of Jane Austen's sophomore English class staple Pride and Prejudice -- set against the backdrop of a zombie outbreak. Grahame-Smith's book was a hit, making it to number three on the New York Times Bestseller list. At the time, Bethan Jones, a UK spokesperson for the book, had this to say:

"The idea of taking two completely separate, incongruous elements - Regency romance and zombies - you think it couldn't possibly work, but it's so intriguing and has really captured people's imaginations."

Clearly the words of someone who doesn't appreciate I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE, a loose 1943 adaptation of Jane Eyre, but I digress. It's those separate, incongruous elements that should make a mash-up like Austen and zombies (or Brontë and zombies, or Lincoln and zombies and/or vampires) fun. Unfortunately, the keyword there is should. Like ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER before it, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES is decidedly lacking in the fun department.

The film opens with a playful, illustrated pop-up book of England's history, narrated by Charles Dance, setting the scene for us. Like Pride and Prejudice, the film centers around Elizabeth Bennett (Lily James). Elizabeth and her sisters have been raised by a father (Dance) who makes it clear that he cares more about his daughters' immediate survival in a zombie-plagued world than their marriageability, even placing them at a decided social disadvantage by sending them to China for Shaolin training. Elizabeth's mother (and sisters) are anxious, however, for husbands. While out one night Elizabeth meets Colonel Darcy (Sam Riley), zombie hunter who is as snobby as he is emotionally constipated, and he and Elizabeth immediately get off on the wrong foot.

Their relationship is the heart of the story, but there is more -- a fledgling relationship between Elizabeth's sister Jane (Bella Heathcote) and Darcy's friend Bingley (Douglas Booth). The arrival of Parson Collins (Matt Smith) looking for a wife. His patron and Darcy's aunt, feared zombie killer the Lady Catherine de Bourgh (Lena Headey). And George Wickham (Jack Huston), a man with a fraught history with Darcy but who Elizabeth finds much easier to get along with.

James and Riley have chemistry, and Riley in particular gives a standout performance. Smith certainly gets his share of laughs playing a twit. But overall, the film is uneven. Not enough Pride and Prejudice and certainly not enough zombies. Steers has crafted a film with only sporadic playfulness, making the rest a bit dull. PRIDE & PREJUDICE & ZOMBIES does contributes to general zombie lore by utilizing the half-zombie. Like Michael, Star, and Laddie in THE LOST BOYS, who don't become vampires until they make their first kill, the Regency era zombies of PRIDE & PREJUDICE & ZOMBIES don't become fully zombified until they eat their first brain. If only it was enough to push PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES up the scale. But no, it sits one rung below ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER. Which, while it could be worse, certainly isn't good.

PRIDE & PREJUDICE & ZOMBIES, starring Lily James, Sam Riley, Matt Smith, and Lena Headey, is rated PG-13 for zombie violence and action, and brief suggestive material.

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